Chapter 67 (1/2)

“This Navy-issue, Eagle-class frigate encountered an electromagnetic storm back then, ultimately causing severe damage to its circuits; thirty percent of its mechanical components were ruined, and the four crew aboard it then lost their lives, one of whom was that best friend I mentioned.” Porter took another large swig of the strong ale as he recalled that painful memory.

Xia Fei nodded and set the tablet down. It was no wonder why the repair list had been so extensive; the spaceship had been subjected to an electromagnetic storm.

Thinking about it in another sense, the fact that the outer hull of the frigate remained completely intact after experiencing such a deadly storm, while only thirty percent of its mechanical components ended up ruined, it was a clear testament of the Hookbill’s durability.

“I wish to begin repairing this spaceship tomorrow.” Xia Fei eyed Porter, his voice resolute when he stated this.

“You’ve already decided? Do you know how much money you’ll end up spending?”

Xia Fei flashed a mild smile. “This is a top-grade frigate; its worth isn’t something that can be measured in money.”

Old Porter rubbed his moist eyes and slapped the table heavily. “Okay! As long as I can speed through the stars again, I can give it another shot!”

Porter stood up and made his way to the window, yelling to the mechanics who were still in the middle of their work, “Boateng, temporarily halt your repairs on that Incursus! Get everyone to take a rest; we’ll be starting on an important job tomorrow!”

Boateng put down the tools in his hands and asked, somewhat puzzled, “Master, we’re ten percent away from completion of our work on it. It’ll take three more days at most. Why don’t we finish this up first before we get started on a new job?”

Porter laughed uproariously. “What are you asking so many questions for?! I’m giving you guys the day off to rest! We’ll be starting promptly tomorrow morning!”

Boateng shook his head and returned to the workers’ dormitory with the others. Porter returned to his seat and told Xia Fei, “What are your thoughts on repairing the spaceship?”

Xia Fei and Phantom had a quiet conversation before he answered, “I plan to abandon the comfort of the spaceship and focus on increasing its overall performance. Fit in the best warp drive as well as a high-capacity reactor. Its radar and fire-control system must be changed to the most advanced components possible, too.”

“If that’s your intention, then the crew capacity of this spaceship will be greatly reduced. We’ll only be able to keep two crew cabins at most, which totals to four people, and there won’t be much space to hold cargo, either,” Porter commented.

Refurbishing the spaceship with a larger and more powerful equipment would mean that they had to eat into the cargo and living spaces of it. The Hookbill originally had five crew cabins, each accommodating up to two people. Adding the captain’s quarters, it was a spaceship that could hold eleven individuals.

If they were to go along with Xia Fei’s line of thought and focus entirely on improving the spaceship’s performance, the frigate would only be able to hold a crew of five, living and working on the spaceship, at most, and the cargo space available would also be reduced by more than half.

Xia Fei chuckled. “It’s not like I’m going to be participating in smuggling operations, so what use do I have for more crew or cargo space, anyway?”

Regarding the modification of the spacecraft, it was important to first ascertain the direction they were leaning toward. There was plenty of equipment that they could fit into the spaceship, and each of them possessed different capabilities, but a spaceship had limited space, so it was impossible to fit everything together, which was why they needed to first pick out the suitable equipment in accordance with the spaceship’s purpose.

After several hours of discussion, Xia Fei and Porter finally nailed down the final blueprint for the spaceship’s modification, creating a most balanced and efficient framework.

It was already late into the night by the time their discussion ended, and Xia Fei decided to stay for the night so that he could begin working with Old Porter early the next morning.

Walking Sonny to his shuttle, Xia Fei asked, “What’s your bank account number?”

Sonny told him the details he needed, and Xia Fei nodded. “I’ll transfer a million star coins into your account, so you can buy this shuttle. I’ll be needing you to ferry me around everywhere during this time, and renting it out the whole time just isn’t cost-effective. Also, buy something good to eat and some good beer over. Buy the best and don’t be afraid to splurge. According to my hometown rules, it is necessary to treat the workers with a round of drinks to commemorate their start of work.”

Sonny was stunned for quite some time as he blurted out in disbelief, “A million star coins! Heavens, that’s a lot!”

Xia Fei patted him on the back. “Too much? Not at all. Had it not been for you, how would I have been able to buy such an incredible warship? Just take that for now, and don’t hesitate to tell me if it isn’t enough.”

Sonny nodded vigorously and flew away on the shuttle. Old Porter had arranged for Xia Fei to stay in the cabin of an Atron-class frigate, which was also at the latter’s request, for he wanted to acclimatize himself to living in an actual warship beforehand.

The inside of this frigate was not too spacious, and Xia Fei returned to his cabin after roaming around it a few times.

There was a porthole in his cabin, and he could see the lights from the workshop still lit up through it. A single robust figure was pacing back and forth constantly with an old-fashioned phone in hand.

There was no need to guess. This person was definitely Old Porter. Even though they had already decided the direction of the spaceship’s modifications, they still needed to purchase all the components necessary, so he was due for a busy night ahead.

Xia Fei lit a cigarette and lay down on that hard single bed. He took out the VR glasses from his spatial ring and logged onto the interplanetary internet.

After transferring a million star coins to Sonny’s account, Xia Fei moved to turn off the device. This was when a window popped up for the ‘accept’ or ‘decline’ buttons of a video-call request.

On the window was a loop of a pink bunny with large, floppy ears gnawing on a carrot repeatedly, occasionally belching.

Xia Fei chuckled and knew that the video-call request must be from that peculiar Avril, so he accepted it.

Avril appeared on the screen with eyes that cried for sleep. Dressed in pink pajamas, her head of hair cascaded messily past her shoulders.

Covering her mouth as she yawned, Avril did her best to perk up. “Why are you only logging in this late? It’s almost about to be morning.”

“It’s going to be morning soon on your planet, but over where I am, it just turned night not too long ago. Why will you be notified when I log in to the interplanetary internet?” Xia Fei asked as he laughed.